With F1 back this weekend, here are the drivers and teams to keep a keen eye on as the final 10 F1 races of the 2024 season occur.
The first 14 Grands Prix of the 2024 F1 season brought many surprises. McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes challenged Red Bull with the latter’s dominance coming to an end. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz announced their new seats at Ferrari and Williams respectively. Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley departed Red Bull. Flavio Briatore and Mattia Binotto announced their comebacks to the grid. That is just a summary, and the final 10 F1 2024 races offer plenty more where that came from.
With seats at Mercedes, Alpine, and Sauber still available and plenty of unsigned drivers on the F1 and F2 grids, these final 10 races have movement to offer. They also promise a Championship battle and the opportunity for Mercedes and Ferrari to say goodbye to their departing drivers.
So, who or what should you look out for?
1. Red Bull V. McLaren V. Ferrari
V. Mercedes?
The battle for the Constructor’s title began to heat up before the summer. It was believed that Red Bull would dominate their way to both titles this year. However, that seemingly is not happening as easily as it has in previous years. In 2023 they won all but one race. In 2024 they have won six out of 14 so far.
They currently lead the race with 408 points but McLaren are behind them with 366 points and Ferrari are on 345.
The race for Constructors’ glory is on! 👊#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/J0fSFzJZIs
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 20, 2024
It is important to remember that where McLaren and Ferrari have two drivers each who maximise their car each weekend where possible, Red Bull does not. This will make them vulnerable and Max Verstappen will not be able to hold off Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz alone. Sergio Pérez has a lot of work to do.
However, we cannot count Mercedes out of this battle. They sit on 266 points, which is a considerable amount behind the top three teams. While they will not win the title, they more than likely will be key players in who does.
The W15 has won three out of the four final races before the break, and there is nothing to suggest that the car will not continue to do so at tracks it is suited to. It is also the team’s final ten races with Lewis Hamilton, meaning each result counts more so to say goodbye to the driver who has delivered them eight consecutive constructors titles and six drivers titles.
The competition is heating up and you do not want to miss it.
2. Those without a seat confirmed for 2025
The 2025 F1 grid has slowly begun to take shape. A number of seats, however, remain unfilled.
Another piece of the 2025 puzzle falls into place 🧩#F1 pic.twitter.com/DksaZGjwhm
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 29, 2024
Daniel Ricciardo, Logan Sargeant, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu are the current drivers without a seat confirmed for next year. With Saregeant being replaced by Carlos Sainz, Magnussen by Ollie Bearman, and either of the Sauber drivers by Nico Hülkenberg, they all have a lot to prove.
While it is likely that Bottas will remain at Sauber and Sargeant is likely headed for IndyCar, the future for all remains unseen. For Ricciardo, he could not only be fighting for his RB seat but a future at Red Bull once again. With Yuki Tsunoda confirmed for RB in 2025, it is likely that Liam Lawson is in contention to replace the Australian who will either have to find a seat elsewhere or replace Sergio Pérez at Red Bull.
Perez’s performance was not up to scratch in the first 14 grands prix of the season. However, he has an established relationship with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen. He also comes with a marketing factor many on the grid do not have. So, if he can pick up the pace on track, his future could be sealed.
3. Lando Norris
Lando Norris had a successful first half of the season. The Briton won his first Grand Prix in Miami and could have won plenty more. Unfortunately for the Briton, “could” is the keyword here. Strategy mishaps at McLaren and his poor starts have cost him key points and wins to add to his name.
In Spain, he lost two positions after Turn 1 from P1 to P3. At the Hungaroring, he lost three positions after Turn 1 from P1 to P4. When in Belgium, he lost another three positions after Turn 1 from P4 to P7. In China, he lost six places in the Sprint Race from P1 to P7 after Turn 1. The Miami International Autodrome Sprint Race saw him go from P9 to P20. He lost 11 places but was spun out by an Aston Martin.
Norris is yet to make up a single position at the start of any race this season so far. Across the 14 Grands Prix thus far this season, he has lost a total of 10 spots. If he does not work on his launches, these final 10 F1 2024 races could end his Drivers’ Championship hopes. They could also see Red Bull and Ferrari extend gaps to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. Mercedes could even edge closer to the British team.
McLaren have shared what they believe the problem to be here:
“It wasn’t the smoothest of starts to the race for Lando, though, as he experienced a small glitch finding second gear during his acceleration from pole.”
The small glitch when selecting the second gear occurs in the second phase of the launch. This is where Norris has lost out on his starts. If this is an issue with the MCL38, it is likely that they will have fixed it or know what they must do to achieve a fix.
Considering McLaren have topped Red Bull on weekends for the fastest car, Norris could be in line for his first Drivers’ Championship. He could also lead his team to victory.
4. Lewis Hamilton
In February it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025. The final 10 F1 2024 races will be his last with the team he has spent 11 years with. It will also be his last few races with Peter Bonnington, known as Bono, as his race engineer. The Briton has been promoted to Head of Race Engineering at Mercedes and will engineer one of the team’s drivers next year.
Could Lewis Hamilton go for glory to close out his time at his home team?
Hamilton has also won two out of the four last races, with teammate George Russell winning one other. With the W15 strong and Hamilton climbing the Drivers’ table each weekend thus far, his hunger for more could drive him to play a key role in who takes the championship.
He currently sits in sixth place with 150 points. He is 12 points behind Carlos Sainz on 162 and 17 points behind Oscar Piastri on 167. Charles Leclerc is only 27 points in front with 177. While the title is more than likely not possible, what is possible is P2 or below. Considering he finished P3 last year in the W14, think about what he has 10 races to do in the W15.
5. Nico Hülkenberg
At Silverstone and Austria, Hülkenberg delivered Haas’ best consecutive results for six years. He finished P6 in both races. Of the team’s 27 points, he has also earned 22 of them across 5 points finishes.
Nico Hulkenberg has been producing the goods during quali AND on race day 🔥#F1 @HulkHulkenberg @HaasF1Team pic.twitter.com/LOi1qP0oUk
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 11, 2024
The American team are also 6 points behind RB in the constructor’s fight and are closing in on sixth place. Hülkenberg himself has spoken of their success so far this season:
“[I’m] very happy. Eight more points on the board, super valuable. But, more importantly, the performance…. the performance is there with this update, and that makes me very happy and optimistic looking into the remainder of the season.
“I think we’re definitely in the fight now for the fifth-fastest team, which is obviously very positive, and nobody really expected [that] a couple of weeks ago. So, yeah, very encouraging and very positive.”
With a seat at Sauber in 2025, which will become Audi in 2026, the German driver has had a lot to prove this season. He seems to be achieving it. With nothing left to lose in his final races with Haas, he has it all to play for.
6. Kimi Antonelli
With the empty seats on the grid, it is only fair that we consider the F2 grid also. Naturally, F2 drivers graduate from the championship and, if you are both talented and lucky enough, move on up to F1.
2025, so far, will see Oliver (Ollie) Bearman leave Prema behind for Haas. He impressed heavily throughout his junior career, F1 Free Practice sessions, and his substitute appearance at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – he replaced Carlos Sainz who had appendicitis.
It is plausible that his fellow drivers will join him. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a Mercedes junior and Bearman’s F2 teammate, is strongly linked to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat. Antonelli shone in both Italian F4 and German F4 in 2022. He then won the FRECA (Formula Regional European) title in 2023. He was then moved up to F2 with Prema in 2024.
While Prema’s 2024 F2 journey has been plagued by a new package they have struggled to dominate with, Antonelli has proven his racecraft. He had a pass at Eau Rouge in the truncated and soaking-wet F2 sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps alongside race wins at Silverstone and the Hungaroring.
An announcement is likely imminent.
Conclusion
Do not exclude the rest of the grid, however. Oscar Piastri, for instance, is looking for his second Grand Prix win. Sergio Pérez is looking for his first of the season. Seats are unconfirmed, titles are not set in stone, and teams have much to maximise. It is all to play for.
The final 10 F1 2024 races have a lot to offer. If they are anything like the first 14, there will be lots of competition.
